Vitamin D Intake May Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Infection Morbidity in Health Care Workers
Tatiana L Karonova, Alena T Chernikova, Ksenia A Golovatyuk, Ekaterina S Bykova, William B Grant, Olga V Kalinina, Elena N Grineva, Evgeny V Shlyakhto
Nutrients, doi:10.3390/nu14030505
In the last 2 years, observational studies have shown that a low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level affected the severity of infection with the novel coronavirus . This study aimed to analyze the potential effect of vitamin D supplementation in reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection morbidity and severity in health care workers. Of 128 health care workers, 91 (consisting of 38 medical doctors (42%), 38 nurses (42%), and 15 medical attendants (16%)) were randomized into two groups receiving vitamin D supplementation. Participants of group I (n = 45) received water-soluble cholecalciferol at a dose of 50,000 IU/week for 2 consecutive weeks, followed by 5000 IU/day for the rest of the study. Participants of group II (n = 46) received water-soluble cholecalciferol at a dose of 2000 IU/day. For both groups, treatment lasted 3 months. Baseline serum 25(OH)D level in health care workers varied from 3.0 to 65.1 ng/mL (median, 17.7 (interquartile range, 12.2; 24.7) ng/mL). Vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and normal vitamin D status were diagnosed in 60%, 30%, and 10%, respectively. Only 78 subjects completed the study. Vitamin D supplementation was associated with an increase in serum 25(OH)D level, but only intake of 5000 IU/day was accompanied by normalization of serum 25(OH)D level, which occurred in 53% of cases. Neither vitamin D intake nor vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency were associated with a decrease in SARS-CoV-2 morbidity (odds ratio = 2.27; 95% confidence interval, 0.72 to 7.12). However, subjects receiving high-dose vitamin D had only asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 in 10 (26%) cases; at the same time, participants who received 2000 IU/day showed twice as many SARS-CoV-2 cases, with mild clinical features in half of them.
References
Annweiler, Beaudenon, Simon, Guenet, Otekpo et al., Group. Vitamin D supplementation prior to or during COVID-19 associated with better 3-month survival in geriatric patients: Extension phase of the GERIA-COVID study, J. Steroid. Biochem. Mol. Biol,
doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2021.105958Azrielant, Shoenfeld, Vitamin D and the immune system, Isr. Med. Assoc. J
Bychinin, Klypa, Mandel, Andreichenko, Baklaushev et al., Low Circulating Vitamin D in Intensive Care Unit-Admitted COVID-19 Patients as a Predictor of Negative Outcomes, J. Nutr,
doi:10.1093/jn/nxab107Cantorna, Snyder, Lin, Yang, Vitamin D and 1,25(OH)2D regulation of T cells, Nutrients
Carpagnano, Di Lecce, Quaranta, Zito, Buonamico et al., Vitamin D deficiency as a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19, J. Endocrinol. Investig,
doi:10.1007/s40618-020-01370-xCastillo, Entrenas Costa, Vaquero Barrios, Alcalá Díaz, López Miranda et al., Effect of calcifediol treatment and best available therapy versus best available therapy on intensive care unit admission and mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19: A pilot randomized clinical study, J. Steroid. Biochem. Mol. Biol,
doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2020.105751Charoenngam, Holick, Immunologic effects of vitamin D on human health and disease, Nutrients,
doi:10.3390/nu12072097Dissanayake, De Silva, Sumanatilleke, De Silva, Gamage et al., Prognostic and therapeutic role of vitamin D in COVID-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis, J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab,
doi:10.1210/clinem/dgab892Faniyi, Lugg, Faustini, Webster, Duffy et al., Vitamin D status and seroconversion for COVID-19 in UK healthcare workers, Eur. Respir. J,
doi:10.1183/13993003.04234-2020Grant, Lahore, Mcdonnell, Baggerly, Franch et al., Evidence That Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths, Nutrients,
doi:10.3390/nu12040988Gönen, Alaylıo Glu, Durcan, Özdemir, Şahin et al., Rapid and Effective Vitamin D Supplementation May Present Better Clinical Outcomes in COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Patients by Altering Serum INOS1, IL1B, IFNg, Cathelicidin-LL37, and ICAM1, Nutrients,
doi:10.3390/nu13114047Heaney, Davies, Chen, Holick, Barger-Lux, Human serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol response to extended oral dosing with cholecalciferol, Am. J. Clin. Nutr,
doi:10.1093/ajcn/77.1.204Holick, Binkley, Bischoff-Ferrari, Gordon, Hanley et al., Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: An Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline, J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab,
doi:10.1210/jc.2011-0385Jeffery, Burke, Mura, Zheng, Qureshi et al., 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 and IL-2 combine to inhibit T cell production of inflammatory cytokines and promote development of regulatory T cells expressing CTLA-4 and FoxP3, J. Immunol,
doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0803217Karonova, Andreeva, Golovatuk, Bykova, Simanenkova et al., Low 25(OH)D Level Is Associated with Severe Course and Poor Prognosis in COVID-19, Nutrients,
doi:10.3390/nu13093021Karonova, Andreeva, Golovatuk, Bykova, Skybo et al., Inficirovannost SARS-CoV-2 v zavisimosti ot urovnya obespechennosti vitaminom D, Probl. Endokrinol,
doi:10.14341/probl12820Karonova, Andreeva, Nikitina, Belyaeva, Mokhova et al., Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in the North-West region of Russia: A cross-sectional study, J. Steroid. Biochem. Mol. Biol,
doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2016.03.026Kaufman, Niles, Kroll, Bi, Holick, SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates associated with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, PLoS ONE,
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239252Kumar, Rathi, Haq, Wimalawansa, Sharma, Putative roles of vitamin D in modulating immune response and immunopathology associated with COVID-19, Virus Res,
doi:10.1016/j.virusres.2020.198235Lakkireddy, Gadiga, Malathi, Karra, Raju et al., Impact of Pulse D Therapy on the Inflammatory Markers in Patients with COVID-19, Sci. Rep
Lemire, Adams, Kermani-Arab, Bakke, Sakai et al., 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 suppresses human T helper/inducer lymphocyte activity in vitro, J. Immunol
Macaya, Espejo Paeres, Valls, Fernandez-Ortiz, Gonzalez Del Castillo et al., Interaction between age and vitamin D deficiency in severe COVID-19 infection, Nutr. Hosp,
doi:10.20960/nh.03193Malek Mahdavi, A brief review of interplay between vitamin D and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2: Implications for a potential treatment for COVID-19, Rev. Med. Virol,
doi:10.1002/rmv.2119Mercola, Grant, Wagner, Evidence Regarding Vitamin D and Risk of COVID-19 and Its Severity, Nutrients,
doi:10.3390/nu12113361Merzon, Tworowski, Gorohovski, Vinker, Golan Cohen et al., Low plasma 25(OH) vitamin D level is associated with increased risk of COVID-19 infection: An Israeli population-based study, FEBS J,
doi:10.1111/febs.15495Mutambudzi, Niedzwiedz, Macdonald, Leyland, Mair et al., Occupation and risk of severe COVID-19: Prospective cohort study of 120,075 UK Biobank participants, Occup. Environ. Med,
doi:10.1136/oemed-2020-106731Oristrell, Oliva, Casado, Subirana, Domínguez et al., Vitamin D supplementation and COVID-19 risk: A population-based, cohort study, J. Endocrinol. Investig,
doi:10.1007/s40618-021-01639-9Panagiotou, Tee, Ihsan, Athar, Marchitelli et al., Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are associated with greater disease severity, Clin. Endocrinol,
doi:10.1111/cen.14276Pizzini, Aichner, Sahanic, Bohm, Egger et al., Impact of Vitamin D Deficiency on COVID-19-A Prospective Analysis from the CovILD Registry, Nutrients
Rondanelli, Miccono, Lamburghini, Avanzato, Riva et al., Self-Care for Common Colds: The Pivotal Role of Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Echinacea in Three Main Immune Interactive Clusters (Physical Barriers, Innate and Adaptive Immunity) Involved during an Episode of Common Colds-Practical Advice on Dosages and on the Time to Take These Nutrients/Botanicals in order to Prevent or Treat Common Colds, Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med,
doi:10.1155/2018/5813095Sealedenvelope, None
Sowah, Fan, Dennett, Hagtvedt, Straube, Vitamin D levels and deficiency with different occupations: A systematic review, BMC Public Health,
doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4436-zTurrubiates-Hernández, Sánchez-Zuno, González-Estevez, Hernández-Bello, Macedo-Ojeda et al., Potential immunomodulatory effects of vitamin D in the prevention of severe coronavirus disease 2019: An ally for Latin America (Review), Int. J. Mol. Med,
doi:10.3892/ijmm.2021.4865Wiersinga, Rhodesz, Cheng, Peacock, Prescott, Pathophysiology, Transmission, Diagnosis and Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Review, JAMA,
doi:10.1001/jama.2020.12839Yildiz, Senel, Kavurgaci, Ozturk, Ozturk, The prognostic significance of vitamin D deficiency in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, Bratisl. Lek. Listy,
doi:10.4149/BLL_2021_119Zemb, Bergman, Camargo, Jr, Cavalier et al., Vitamin D deficiency and the COVID-19 pandemic, J. Glob. Antimicrob. Resist,
doi:10.1016/j.jgar.2020.05.006
